Michaelangelo painted the Sistine chapel ceiling in Vatican City between 1508 and 1512. Since then, there have been multiple renovations to preserve the famed frescoes. One of the most extensive took place in the 1980s and ‘90s. Sponsored by a Japanese television corporation, conservation experts from around the world worked to remove grime, dust and candle smoke. The process was not without controversy as specialists tried to get into the mind of the Italian artist.
While not all buildings need a team of professional conservationists, they do need electrical contractors, especially when updates are required.
Jeff Gavin’s “Electric Power Is the New Fuel” on page 28 kicks off this renovation and retrofit issue with the journey of renovating a house to be all electric. Jeff is uniquely qualified to write this article because he recently transformed his own home to be “super energy-efficient, all-electric.” Some homeowners go one piece at a time, and others (like Jeff) go all in at once. A big key to success is heat pump technology, which has gotten better. He included a bit about his own experience on page 30. Thanks, Jeff, for sharing.
Owning a home gives you plenty of options for backup power. In “Batteries, Generators or Both?,” Chuck Ross looks into why homeowners are interested in having a backup plan if their utility’s grid goes dark. Maybe it is possible to help them to get the best of both worlds. Read all about the opportunity on page 40.
Sticking with the renovation trend, we move from the home to a home away from home: hotels. On page 56, Claire Swedberg looks into hotel sustainability. Controls are leading the way. Claire tells us to be aware of legislation and incentives that may be in effect in your area. Check out “Hotels Shrink Their Carbon Footprints.”
We’re big fans of sports here at ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR magazine, and our project profile for the month is about the new CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. The Kansas City Current soccer team calls this stadium home, and it is the first one to be built with female athletes in mind. Read more on Mark One Electric’s project successes and challenges in Susan Bloom’s “The Team to Beat” on page 36.
A new presidential administration brings a lot of the unknown. This year’s OSHA Outlook on page 20 delves into the possible changes the agency may face. Tom O’Connor talks about the possible life expectancy for the heat safety standard and predicts more employer-friendly policies to be in place. Check out “The Shifting Sands of Government Standards.”
Die-hard ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR fans may be wondering where SAFETY LEADER is this month. Don’t you worry—the supplement will be available online at SafetyLeaderMag.com and ECmagdigital.com shortly after this issue gets to you.
Stay tuned to these pages in the coming months and years as we help you renovate your business for what’s happening in the industry. We have your back, and that won’t ever change.
